Tomi Kitagawa -- Hajimete no Haru（初めての春）

 

The above photo was actually taken four years ago downtown near the University of Toronto but the weather reflects what it's like today as we take our baby steps into Spring 2022. Yup, no sight of snow on the ground except for the blackened piles at certain points on the curbs, but the weather forecasters have stated that there will be another dusting of the pure white stuff later on this week.😞

I did want to find at least one kayo with a hint of spring in there so I was able to track down one song in the backlog titled "Hajimete no Haru" (The First Spring). Sung by Tomi Kitagawa（北川とみ）, this number is a folksy New Music number that starts off pensively enough before suddenly launching into something more determined. Written and composed by Keizo Okuyama（奥山景三）, the song details the story of a young couple who may be reaching a turning point into the relationship which has reached its first spring. Although the song strikes me as being a little too quick-paced to be purely a folk number, Okuyama's lyrics have that folk message of naïve youths making those hesitant strides into adulthood.

Having written about Kitagawa once before for her "Wasuretainoni"（忘れたいのに）, I'd made an error when I said that it was her debut single. Actually I was able to find out some more about the singer via "Idol.ne.jp" that "Hajimete no Haru" is the B-side to her actual first single, "Ajisai Dera"（あじさい寺...Hydrangea Temple） from February 1976 before her sophomore entry "Wasuretainoni". In total, Kitagawa released three singles and an album up to 1977. Returning to her native Aichi Prefecture in 1980, she went into writing and radio program production.

Tomi Kitagawa/Masa Takagi -- Wasuretainoni （忘れたいのに）

Got some of those midweek blues? Have a rash of those Wednesday sighs? Yup, I hear you. I feel that Hump Day lethargy in the form of fatigue and creaky joints. Don't particularly want to get up and do stuff outside...not that I usually do in any case but especially today.

Therefore, I think for that sort of thing, I will go with something very soft for this article. "Wasuretainoni" (Although I Want to Forget) may just do the trick. The above two singers may not have ever become household words in the music industry but I can consider them to be part of the 9/10ths of the kayo iceberg remaining hidden underwater to be revealed.

First off, there is very little to be found on the singer Tomi Kitagawa（北側とみ）online save for one profile page which may have had her debuting in 1976 with "Wasuretainoni" (actually this song is her second single). It's one of those old-fashioned kayo ballads that could fit into a few genres: pop, borderline enka (since I can imagine female singers such as Sayuri Ishikawa・石川さゆり tackling this one), folk thanks to those ocarinas, and even Mood Kayo although the lady here isn't crying into her booze but into a cup of tea over a lost first love. It's one of those delicately spun songs that could have been performed by chanteuses including Hiromi Iwasaki（岩崎宏美）and Ruiko Kurahashi（倉橋ルイ子）. Kitagawa's vocals and the arrangement were the points that attracted me to this one.

I don't know how many singles and albums Kitagawa ended up releasing but it looks like she expanded her horizons within and outside of the singing world. The Nagoya-born singer provided commercial jingles, appeared on radio and TV, started teaching at a tarento school, and participated in oldies bands and even one covering Peter, Paul & Mary songs.

Singer-songwriter Masa Takagi（高木麻早）wrote and composed "Wasuretainoni". She's already got a couple of entries on the blog and she has turned out to be an interesting artist since although she's been under the pop culture radar, she seems to have plied her vocals in a few genres ranging from folk to City Pop. Takagi did a cover of her creation as her 10th single released in September 1978. This version is even more austere and contemplative. Perhaps the best drink to listen to it is a cup of orange pekoe without any sugar or cream.